The Occurrence of Girls' and Women's Sports Across Cultures: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Psychology

Mentor Information

Robert Deaner, deanerr@gvsu.edu

Department

Psychology

Location

Henry Hall Atrium 80

Start Date

13-4-2011 2:00 PM

End Date

13-4-2011 3:00 PM

Keywords

Culture, Gender, Social Class, Social Science

Abstract

Numerous cross-cultural studies of sports have been conducted, but none have focused on girls and women. Therefore, for 200 cultures in the eHRAF, we coded descriptions of females' activities as: (a) games of chance, strategy, or physical skill (i.e. sport), (b) played by teams or individuals, (c) and played against females and/or males, and (d) for sports, as being combative or non-combative. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) females will engage in team sports less often than males; (2) sports that reveal femininity will be more popular than combative sports; (3) and female sports will occur more frequently in cultures where women have greater control of resources or politics. We found support for all hypotheses, including a complete absence of female vs. female team sports. This research provides the first cross-cultural summary of female sports and brings our own culture's practices (i.e. widespread female vs. female team sports) into sharper relief.

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Apr 13th, 2:00 PM Apr 13th, 3:00 PM

The Occurrence of Girls' and Women's Sports Across Cultures: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Henry Hall Atrium 80

Numerous cross-cultural studies of sports have been conducted, but none have focused on girls and women. Therefore, for 200 cultures in the eHRAF, we coded descriptions of females' activities as: (a) games of chance, strategy, or physical skill (i.e. sport), (b) played by teams or individuals, (c) and played against females and/or males, and (d) for sports, as being combative or non-combative. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) females will engage in team sports less often than males; (2) sports that reveal femininity will be more popular than combative sports; (3) and female sports will occur more frequently in cultures where women have greater control of resources or politics. We found support for all hypotheses, including a complete absence of female vs. female team sports. This research provides the first cross-cultural summary of female sports and brings our own culture's practices (i.e. widespread female vs. female team sports) into sharper relief.